Spark-plug



in I

H. A. MYERS.

SPARK PLUG.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 14, 1919.

Patented Oct. 19, 1920.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HUBERT A. MYERS, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIG-NOR TO THE MYERS SPARK PLUG(70., OF TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

SPARK-PLUG.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 19, 1920.

Application filed April 14, 1919. Serial No. 289,984.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUBERT A. MYERS, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Toledo, Ohio, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Spark-Plugs, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to self-cleaning spark plugs of the kind shownand described in my prior Patent No. 1,268,380 and contemplates animprovement thereon.

The object of the invention is to provide a construction which willresult in a more effective action of the cleaning balls which areinclosed loosely in the plug.

To these and other useful ends the invention consists in mattershereinafter set forth and claimed. 1

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a sparkplug embodying the principles of the invention, showing the lowerportion thereof in vertical section.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line 22 in Fig. 1.

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises an insulator 1 of porcelainor ,other material, having an enlarged lower end 2 forming a shoulder 3extending around the lower-portion of the insulator. The insulator isheld in the casing or outer metal portions 4 and 5 in any suitable orordinary manner. The sleeve portion 6 of the plug is threadedexternally, in the usual manner, and has an internal shoulder 7 which isopposite the other shoulder 3, the space 8 being formed above saidshoulders. A restricted inlet 9 is formed around the lower end of saidspace 8, thereby to admit the pressure. The balls 10 are disposed insaid space and normally rest upon said shoulders. These balls may bemade of porcelain or other insulating material, and are preferablyformed with rough surfaces. The electrodes 11 and 12 are mounted andarranged in the usual manner.

When the explosions occur in the cylinder of the engine, the pressureenters through the inlet 9 and blows the balls 10 upward. It will beseen that this inlet is a little outside of the center of each ball, sothat the pressure acts on the outer side of each ball. This causes theballs to roll upwardly upon the sides of the insulator, thereby removingthe carbon from the surfaces of the space in which they are inclosed.The balls can also, of course, roll around in various directions, thuskeeping the interior of the plug clean.

hat I claim as my invention is l. A spark plug comprising an insulatorhaving an enlarged lower end portion forming a shoulder, with spacearound that portion of the insulator above the shoulder, and a pluralityof loose elements adapted to move around in said space, which elementsnormally rest upon said shoulder, the plug having a restricted inletextending around the edge of said shoulder to admit the pressure againstthe lower sides of said elements.

2. A spark plug as specified in claim 1, said plug having a sleeveextending over said insulator and formed internally with a shoulderopposite the shoulder on the insulator, so that said elements normallyrest on both of said shoulders.

3. A spark plug as specified in claim 1, said elements being balls whichroll up and down and around the insulator, and said inlet being locatedoutside of the center of each ball, whereby the pressure acts on theouter side of each ball.

HUBERT A. MYERS.

